Daily Dose of BS June 9 don't we all deserve love?

Doesn’t everyone deserve the chance at love?  I think that they do.   On Friday the state of Wisconsin joined the growing number of states where federal judges have struck down same-sex marriage bans.  Over the weekend many same sex couples stood in line in attempt to obtain a marriage license, and get married.  I know many gay people and I know that most did not choose this way of life, why would you choose to be constantly ridiculed and looked down on by so many.  I don’t know this to be fact but wouldn’t the discrimination that the gay population is going through now what women went through and blacks went through and other people who are or were discriminated against have gone through?  I don’t think that you have to embrace the lifestyle but to accept is the first step.  I am confused don’t we all want happiness and love?

Daily Dose of BS June 6 sleep

We all have our tricks for fooling ourselves into a longer night’s sleep. I do not get when people knowingly set their bed room clocks ahead, so they get the illusion of sleeping in. Can’t you do math when your alarm rings, you know that it is really whatever time you set your alarm for minus what you set your clock ahead, to me this doesn’t work. What about the person who sets their alarm for an hour earlier than when they are supposed to get up and then reset the alarm for a later time? What, why would you do this, you are losing that hour of good sleep by disrupting it. Do not even get me started on the snooze, again you are losing that extra time of good sleep with what a 9 minute nap, and if you add your moved ahead clock to the time you have on the snooze wouldn’t it just be easier to not trick your mind, and get up when your alarm rings? I wake up when my alarm rings, I listen to a couple of news stories then I get up and go. What is you early morning wake up trick?

Daily Dose of BS June 5 under watch

You can’t scratch yourself without someone knowing. There are cameras here and there and there and there and they seem like just about everywhere. More and more people are getting cameras on their private property, there are hidden cameras in lots of stores and even soon cameras on the streets of La Crosse. Google has given us neighborhood pictures and NSA has given us satellite pictures, who is to say that there is someone out there that can stream those images? We are under constant surveillance, so with all this technology why is it that we still have to wait for a stop light to change from red to green when we are the only ones there? I know someone is watching and they getting their kicks.

Daily Dose of BS June 4 out to eat

Living in a smaller town we miss out on some of the restaurant chains that are out there, I really like to go to Noodles when traveling, I have seen the ads for Chili’s never been I would like try them, also would like to try Long John Slivers.  I like eating at Pot Bellys in Madison and Chicago, for a great sub sandwich.  The In and Out Burger was the hit of the trip out to California.  Growing up I loved Ferrells, Bridgemans, Zantigo and Burger Chef.  Don’t get me wrong I love all the locally owned home cooking place that we have around here, and I do have my favorites.  But, what restaurant chain would you like to see come into the La Crosse area?  

Daily Dose of BS June 3 graffiti

For the second time in four months someone broke in to the construction site of the new North Side Elementary School. This time someone spray painted “teach safe sex” then smeared paint with a gloved hand on an untreated wall, meaning that even though the wall was scrubbed, the graffiti was still visible. The cynic in me wants to say maybe your parents should have followed your message, but that would be rude. There are other ways to get your message across, go to social media, hold up a sign, buy some ads, join a civic group, I could go on. What happen to the golden rule and why would you want to deface someone else’s property? This little trick is going to cost between 5 and ten thousand dollars to clean up.

Daily Dose of BS June 2 negotiate

What happened to “We will not negotiate with terrorists?”  Do not get me wrong, I am glad that Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has been released after almost five years in captivity, I think it is awesome and inspiring that Sgt. Bergdahl went into the service and I also feel for his parents and the rest of his family, BUT why did we negotiate with terrorists?  Won’t this just open doors for others to come in and take a hostage, or come up with another demands.  I expect this to keep happening because I we all know once that a wedge is started, once an inch is given, the foundation begins to erode fast.   

Daily Dose of BS May 30 sales

Weekends are famous in the Midwest for garage sales, I used to be a big rummage saler, I used to like to pick through someone’s sale tables and try to find the best deal possible, the once in a lifetime find. Those were the days, you used to be able to go to a rummage sale and find some really good deals, now I don’t think as much. Some people who have these sales get an unrealistic value that they place on things based on what I don’t know, but how often have you been to a sale and one of these four things were there, prices so high that you could buy new for cheaper, that the stuff was dirty, or junky or they were selling things like old cool whip and margarine tub and you wondered why they even bothered with the sale. Every once in a while you come across the holy grail of a sale but for the most part at least the ones I have seen lately have been stuff that I would probably just throw away.

Daily Dose of BS May 29 cybercrimes

I got an email from ebay the other day saying I should change my password; I have got other emails from other companies in the past with the same request. I think that they are winning; I really think that the hackers are winning. I saw a report that was released yesterday that said that same thing. The annual survey on cybercrimes found that hackers are breaking into computers and stealing information. How can we stop them, go off the grid? I don’t think that this is a possibility as we are all tied into the world wide web with everything from our phone, both home and cell, to our tv to our internet, are we too tied in and is there hope of ever getting back our privacy?

Daily Dose of BS May 28 do you trust your phone

Do you trust your phone? There are more and more covert aps that are on the market and people are using them to spy on each other. I don’t think I have too much to hid but this bothers me, would I like if someone knows where I am 24/7? Not at all there are something’s that we need to do that don’t need prying eyes. I have had a few guests on in the past talking about cyber stalking but this phone stalking to me takes it to a new level, like a constant eye, and I don’t like it. We are already telling the world where we are and when we are not at home but to have someone actually know that you are in the dairy food isle at the grocery store, enough is enough. Now I am not sure if I trust my phone.

Daily Dose of BS May 27 shooting

The shooting over the weekend in Santa Clara, California had a shooter that posted on youtube and had a manifesto of 140 pages long. I don’t get it, if every person who has felt rejected, alone or sad went on a rampage, there would be things like this happening all the time, because I know that when I was a teenage boy I felt much of the same, when you get rejected you just got to pick yourself up by your bootstraps and jump back on the horse. I think that all too often people blame their surroundings, their situation, their failures on others, guess what you don’t like those items, change them. There are millions of stories and millions of positive outcomes that are lived out daily. If you are having a hard time with life, don’t I repeat do not grab a sniper rifle or any other weapon, talk to someone because there is help, and believe it or not people care.

Daily Dose of BS May 23 mowing

Well I did it and it worked on the first try.  With our weather getting better and better my lawn started to wake up and do what it was supposed to do, grow.  I had about ankle high grass yesterday afternoon and a nice carpet of green when done.  I was leery of the mower starting after the cold winter that we had, but I filled the tank, pulled once and the mower coughed twice, then purred like a kitten.  Don’t get me wrong, I miss my old Lawn Boy mower without all the safety levers but this Briggs and Stratton mower is pretty good.  This weekend I will attempt to get the weed eater working, I can tell you right now that it won’t start on the first pull or even the 15^th and I will smell of exhaust when done, but the weed eating will be done. 

Daily Dose of BS May 22 panhandlers

How many people actually give money or food to the panhandlers that are standing on the medians as we drive into town?  I have an uncle who lives on the streets in Chicago and he makes his living by washing windows and other odd jobs, is it strange that it bugs me seeing people standing with a sign asking for a handout?  I don’t mind helping someone out I do believe that this is human nature, but if you are going to get something shouldn’t you offer something in return?  

Daily Dose of BS May 21 the big game

The big game, the big football game, that game that is played the first weekend in February crowning the champion with that trophy, you know the trophy.  You also know the game, the one where people who don’t even care about the game watch for the commercials.   This game will be played in Minnesota 2018, the new Minnesota team stadium beat out team stadiums from others around the country.  Cities like New Orleans and Indianapolis.  The game will be played that cold winters day in Minneapolis, in their new multi-million dollar supported by some tax payer money stadium.  I guess if you want to have the big game to be played in your city, you either have to be warm, have a dome, or willing to take from the tax payer dollars to get a stadium.  I am sure you noticed I didn’t say the name of the league, the name of the big game or anything else that could be construed as a negative toward that league, I just don’t have the time or the money to defend myself against their rule of saying the names of the teams or the big game.  Plus I don’t have written consent.  

Daily Dose of BS May 20 everyday achievements

I am a simple man, there are little games that I play every once in a while trying to either beat the clock on the microwave, by trying to get a chore done, or trying to open the microwave door at the moment the thing is ready to beep.  How about grabbing your usb drive and getting it into the slot the first time, I loose this game often.  I like to time my driving either to or home from work so that way I don’t hit any red lights, it happens more often on way to work than on way home.  But the ultimate win is waking up looking at the alarm clock right as it goes off, when then happens I buy a lottery ticket.  That one has yet to pay off.  What are the little games you play? Or better yet what’s the most satisfying everyday achievement? 

Daily Dose of BS May 19 love my job

Is it weird that I like work? I was just on vacation and was looking forward to getting back to work, where there is structure. Don’t get me wrong I look forward to the times when I can leave the office and go away for a few days but I am a fan of what I do for a living, it know what to expect and I am used to the surroundings, plus I get to sleep in my own bed. Are you a fan of work or do you hate what you do? I think that life is too short to be at a job you hate as we all put in many hours a week doing what pays us. If you do not love it, why do it? Is it the money, is the hours, is it cause it fits your schedule? If so start looking for the next one, you can find something else. Life it too short to settle.

Daily Dose of BS May 12 parking

Did ya see what the city of La Crosse is proposing for parking? I call BS. Meaning Bad Stuff, I dislike alternate side parking November through April now there is talk of year round alternate side parking, no thank you. The city is always talking about doing this or that to bring more people in to the city, this could push me and a bunch of people out of La Crosse. I am guessing that when they poll anyone no one has ever said you know what will help with economic growth, let’s have alternate side parking – year round. Bad idea folks, really bad idea. This is a grand idea to go with the great river grand city slogan. Let’s change that to parking is going to stink but the rest of the city is ok, and we have a grand river.

Daily Dose of BS May 9 armrests

Being a bigger guy I am always looking for the best place to sit in a movie theater or plane.  I very much dislike sitting next to another big guy cause there is always the fight for the arm rest.  When was the last time you were at the you name it and the person that sits down next to you sneaks in and steals the arm rest?  I don’t know where to put my arms if I can’t use the rest, do I fold them across my chest, do I sit on my hands where to these arms hang if they can’t use the rest?  Why can’t airlines and movie theaters next time they upgrade the seats upgrade them to comfortable double arm rest seats?  While we are on the topic of seating why is it that some restaurants have the high back no lean chairs, they are super uncomfortable, also when seated at a booth, as a bigger guy and I am guessing a big chested woman also has to worry about getting stuck.  I don’t know how many times I have had to switch sides on a booth when the table and the seat is bolted down.  You do know it is all about comfort, right.  

Daily Dose of BS May 8 money

I think it is time that we rethink our money system.  Personally I believe that we need to bring in a bigger than a 100 dollar bill, if you go to buy a 30 thousand dollar car and you want to pay cash you have to come up with 300 100 dollar bills.  The c-note doesn’t have the same prestige that it once did, I remember the first time I held one and the awe I was in and the power I felt, now it doesn’t even cover a week’s groceries for the family.  I think that the US government should look into bringing back the 500 and the thousand dollar bill.  While we are on money we should also do away with pennies.  A penny used to buy something now even penny candy is two for five cents.  Plus tax eats away at the extra few cents that we think we are saving by buying something that ends in 99.  

Daily Dose of BS May 7 carpet

We had new carpet installed the other day in a bedroom, a hallway and the stairs. The installers had it set up like cable install saying that they would be there between 1 and 3. They split the difference they got there at 2. Tear out, clean up, install and clean they thought 2 to 3 hours, I thought great I have evening plans should be great. When I left the house at 6 for my evening plans they were still working, when I got home they at 9 they were just finishing up. Apparently there are 3 different businesses in play here, the carpet store, the measurer, and the installer. The measurer measured wrong causing the installer to seam my carpet in a few spots, it is in but there are seams in the carpet, seams that I didn’t want. Also I have about 15 yards of carpet that was left behind. My questions are should I get money back on the left over carpet, should the installers get paid more for working longer and harder should the measurer be fired and what if there was so much carpet left over what happed to the extra pad?

Daily Dose of BS May 5 tv shows

It’s that time of the year again when the shows that you fell in love with over the spring book are getting canceled.  I am a big fan of the Robin Williams show “The Crazy Ones”, I also like “About a Boy”, “Enlisted” and “The Trophy Wife” and these four shows are on the bubble to get cancelled.  It bugs me that these networks put so much into getting us as consumers to start liking a show then pulling the plug, to do what fill the time with yet another annoying singing competition or some wacky but untrue reality type program?  I just don’t get it.  Do you?